Animals

Tickets

Chinchilla

Latin name

Chinchilla lanigera

Class

Mammals

Order

Rodentia

Family

Chinchillidae

IUCN Status

Not listed

Habitat

Burrows or crevices in rocks

Distribution

Chile

General Information

Chinchillas are nocturnal members of the rodent family. They are very sociable and active and a six-foot leap is easy for chinchillas. A regular dust bath keeps their thick fur in good condition. The young are born fully developed after a long gestation period of 111 days. In the wild they eat dry desert grass. They are prone to diabetes and cannot eat fruit high in sugar.

Lifespan: 15 – 20 years in captivity

Fun Fact

Chinchilla fur is extremely soft; each hair follicle can sprout up to 60 hairs. As a Defence mechanism chinchilla’s can shed their fur to escape a predator.

Keeper Notes

The best time to visit our sleepy chinchillas is in the late afternoon when they start to become more active.